Home  Economics  Circular  No.  15.  October,  1922. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR 

BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION 
WA8HINQTON,  D.  C. 


SELF-SUPPORTING  HOME-ECONOMICS  DEPARTMENTS. 

By   Mrs.  HENRIETTA  W.   CALVIN. 


INTRODUCTION. 

"  How  shall  we  reconcile  the  actual  teaching  of  cooking  and  the 
preparation  of  hot  lunches  which  are  to  be  served  each  day  in  a 
small  consolidated  school  cafeteria?  The  cafeteria  must-  be  self- 
supporting,  and  the  cooking  must  be  done  by  three  cooking  classes." 
This  is  one  of  many  similar  questions  coming  to  the  Bureau  of 
Education. 

A  second  type  of  question  is,  "  How  can  we  make  our  home-eco- 
nomics work  self-supporting  and  yet  neither  sacrifice  educational 
values  nor  exploit  the  pupils  and  teacher?" 

The  questions  are  similar  but  not  identical.  In  the  first,  the  ac- 
tuating thought  in  the  minds  of  the  school  authorities  probably  is 
that  the  pupils  need  hot  food.  In  the  second,  the  thought  is  that 
school  expenses  must  be  cut.  In  many  cases  the  logical  answer  to 
the  one  is  also  the  answer  to  the  second.  Suggestions  for  the  solu- 
tion of  the  second  question,  where  no  cafeteria  is  maintained,  are 
partially  answered  in  Home  Economics  Circular  Xo.  14. 

All  progressive  home-economics  teachers  are  striving  to  find  a 
method  of  procedure  that  will  permit  them  to  escape  from  motive- 
less manipulation  of  minute  quantities  of  food  materials,  and  yet 
save  themselves  and  their  classes  from  the  wreckage  resulting  from 
exploitation  for  the  benefit  of  lunch-room  appetites. 

COOKING    IN    QUANTITIES. 

Cooking  in  quantities  comparable  to  the  amounts  required  for  an 
average  family  is  highly  desirable.  Cooking  exclusively  in  res- 
taurant quantities  affords  little  training  of  value.  The  wise  teacher 

13372'— 22 


foods,  nutrition,  and  food  preparation:  First,  the  laboratory  class 
period  is  of  not  less  than  60  minutes'  duration ;  second,  the  period  is 
immediately  preceding  the  noon  hour;  third,  the  same  class  comes 
daily  or  sections  of  the  same  class  so  alternate  that  every  day  service 
of  food  is  possible  (to  have  classes  in  different  grades  doing  the  same 
work  is  most  undesirable) ;  fourth,  the  understanding,  good  will,  and 
cooperative  spirit  of  teachers  in  other  departments  is  assured ;  fifth, 
the  mothers  in  the  community  are  in  sympathy  with  the  project; 
sixth,  the  home-economics  teacher  is  capable,  willing,  well  trained, 
and  interested  in  this  type  of  teaching,  and  the  principal  of  the  school 
fully  realizes  the  educational  value  to  the  consumer  of  a  rightly  man- 
aged school  lunch  and  the  injustice  which  may  result  if  the  home- 
economics  teacher  and  pupils  are  exploited. 

The  course  in  foods  arranged  to  function  with  the  lunch  service 
should  be  organized  around  the  replies  to  a  series  of  questions  such 
as  these:  What  composes  an  adequate  diet  for  growing  children? 
What  foods  are  especially  necessary?  What  types  of  food  should 
the  noon  meal  be  composed  of?  In  this  particular  school  does  the 
noon  lunch  replace  the  main  hot  meal  at  home,  or  do  the  families 
of  this  community  have  their  heaviest  meal  in  the  evening? 

After  this  preliminary  work,  the  theory  lessons  should  be  so 
evolved  as  to  develop  a  knowledge  of  elementary  nutrition  and 
dietetics,  of  proper  food  combinations,  and  of  the  production,  mar- 
keting, and  care  of  foods,  with  special  emphasis  upon  sanitary  prac- 
tices. 

A  good  textbook  in  elementary  dietetics  and  nutrition  should  be 
adopted  and  used  in  the  classroom  work,  which  should  parallel  the 
laboratory  exercises. 

PRICES   OF   FOOD. 

Food  costs  vary  in  different  sections  of  the  country.  A  small 
profit  should  be  made  on  all  sales  of  cooked  foods  in  order  to  cover 
losses  due  to  mistakes  in  preparation,  the  cost  of  the  food  tasted  by 
the  class  members,  and  the  cost  incurred  in  connection  with  the 
service  of  the  lunches. 

With  careful  management  good  food  can  be  served  at  a  cost 
varying  from  3  to  5  cents  for  each  portion  yielding  from  250  to 
300  calories. 

No  profit  should  be  permitted  on  fresh  fruit  and  bottled  milk, 
for  these  are  articles  essential  to  the  children's  health,  and  all 
reasonable  measures  should  be  adopted  to  encourage  their  use. 

In  the  fall,  lunch-room  food  service  should  be  delayed  for  several 
weeks.  Work  in  both  theory  and  practice  necessarily  precedes  quan- 
tity cooking.  Instruction  in  expeditious  methods  of  procedure,  good 
housekeeping  practices,  and  regulation  of  cooking  temperatures  is 


fundamental.  The  ability  to  comprehend  and  follow  directions  must 
be  acquired  before  serious  responsibilities  can  be  assumed.  Unifica- 
tion of  ideas  and  ideals  must  be  accomplished. 

COUB8H  OF  STUDY  IN   FOOD  PREPARATION. 

•  ajKi'jbirtnoo  bfu>  rtirosJiiio.)  *ntt  /^d)  i«iJ)  •i#n/ij;iM  yfioif  10  in*  (fi 
The  following  lessons,  in  which  the  use  of  milk  and  vegetables  are 

stressed,  may  well  compose  the  earlier  part  of  ^his  course:  Cocoa 
and  chocolate;  Cream  of  tomato  soup;  Cream  of  corn  soup;  Vege- 
table soup  without  meat;  Creamed  onions:  Escalloped  cabbage; 
Macaroni  and  tomato  sauce ;  Buttered  peas  and  carrots ;  Baked  pota- 
toes with  cheese  sauce;  Baked  beans  and  escalloped  tomatoes; 
Creamed  dried  beef  and  baked  potatoes;  Creamed  cod  fish  and 
mashed  potatoes;  Vegetable  soup  made  with  meat;  Escalloped  apples; 
Hot  bisouits  and  creamed  salmon;  Hot  corn  bread  and  pot  roast  of 
beef;  Hot  muffins  and  fried  apples;  Dried  apricot  shortcake;  Baked 
apple  dumplings;  Bread  pudding;  Rice  and  raisin  pudding;  Steamed 
brown  bread;  Fruit  salad;  Vegetable  salad;  Tuna  fish  and  celery 
salad ;  Cheese  and  nut  salad ;  Fish,  meat,  or  cheese  souffle. 

These  various  articles  of  food  offer  ample  opportunity  to  organize 
an  adequate  course  in  food  preparation. 

So  long  as  there  is  educational  value  in  repeating  a  recipe,  all 
the  class  may  prepare  a  portion  of  the  recipe  needed  in  the  lunch 
room.  So  soon  as  the  preparation  of  a  certain  food  is  mastered  the 
preparation  should  be  detailed  to  two  girls,  and  the  rest  of  the  class 
should  that  day  work  with  small  quantities  on  a  new  recipe. 

For  instance,  cocoa,  vegetable  soup,  and  tomato  soup  made  with 
milk  may  be  found  to  be  popular  with  the  pupils.  These  will  appear 
on  the  menu  some  days  of  almost  every  week.  The  first,  and  prob- 
ably the  second,  time  each  of  these  foods  appears  on  the  lunch  menu 
it  will  be  found  desirable  to  have  every  group  of  two  or  every  indi- 
vidual girl  prepare  a  quantity  comparable  to  the  amount. needed  for 
a  family  of  six. 

Usually  1  gallon  of  cocoa  or  soup  is  sufficient  for  20  services.  For 
50  lunch  guests  2£  gallons,  or  10  quarts,  will  be  required.  With  the 
above  assignment  of  work  in  a  class  of  20,  each  two  girls  will  make 
a  quart  or  each  girl  1  pint,  and  when  the  article  is  done  the  finished 
product  will  be  poured  into  one  large  container. 

In  after  times  two  girls  will  make  the  entire  10  quarts. 

If  it  is  found  desirable  that  sandwiches  be  served  every  day,  these 
should  be  practiced  upon  in  class  until  they  can  be  made  dexterously, 
after  which  some  person  should  be  paid  to  make  them. 

As  with  the  preparation  of  the  large  recipe,  so  with  the  respon- 
sibility for  planning,  estimating  quantities,  keeping  records  of  cash 
received  and  expended,  and  notifying  mothers  of  the  next  week's 


6 

menus,  the  duties  should  rotate  among  the  different  members  of  the 
class.  This  will  in  no  wise  relieve  the  teacher  of  her  responsibilities, 
but  will  enhance  the  educational  value  of  the  work. 

It  is  for  other  teachers  than  those  in  home  economics  to  see  that 
the  pupils  are  clean  when  they  enter  the  lunch  room,  that  they  enter 
in  an  orderly  manner,  that  they  are  courteous  and  considerate  one  to 
another,  that  they  maintain  good  order  while  in  the  lunch  room,  and 
observe  the  rules  that  are  evolved  for  operating  it.  These  responsi- 
bilities may  be  detailed  to  different  teachers  for  different  weeks  or 
may  be  assigned  to  the  director  of  physical  and  health  education. 

At  least  once  a  week,  and  if  possible  once  each  day,  the  pupils  in 
every  room  should  have  a  short  talk  on  the  relation  of  diet  and  food 
habits  to  health. 

It  may  be  possible  to  so  lighten  the  tasks  of  the  home -economics 
teacher  that  she  can  visit  the  various  rooms,  explain  the*  funda- 
mentals of  an  adequate  diet,  and  make  plain  the  reasons  for  the 
plans  adopted  for  operating  the  lunch  room. 

It  has  been  found  possible  to  train  the  home-economics  girls  to 
give  talks  on  the  subject  of  foods  and  diet  to  various  classes. 

The  school  lunch  room  may  be  but  a  feeding  station,  or  it  may  be 
made  an  educational  factor  of  the  highest  value.  It  should  be  the 
latter,  not  alone  for  the  relatively  few  girls  who  participate  in  the 
preparation  of  the  food,  but  for  every  individual  connected  with  the 
school. 

Again,  may  it  be  said,  no  home-economics  teacher  need  be  dis- 
mayed or  discouraged  when  asked  to  serve  hot  foods  if  the  coopera- 
tion of  principal  and  teachers  is  assured  and  she  and  her  pupils 
are  protected  from  exploitation. 

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